Bridging the Gap

Its 2025, Come on guys! We really need to realize that despite having the same traditional HR concepts we need to change our way of implementation. What do I mean?

Ok, so we have a different dynamic of generation in today’s job market. Do we really understand what candidates expect from organizations? Better yet do candidates know what HR expect?

Here in this article, we would like to bridge this gap.

Being in Recruitment for a couple of years, I have realized that we really don’t understand fully what to expect from candidates. There is a lot we focus on e.g. skills, learning ability, culture fit etc. I mean the list is endless but do we really know what these future employees expect.

Throughout I have talked to various job seekers and not only here but around the African region and funny thing is that they have similar concerns. Most job seekers, lets call them candidates, feel like organizations do not truly understand them and most of the time they just have to settle for what the company wants. Most of them feel like from the interview stage there is less of an interaction but a definite expectation from the panel based on scripted requirements. In short, they want “This kind of person”.

Now, don’t get me wrong. This is still not a bad thing but I feel like it limits the kind of people who can best fit into an organization.

Having sat in different panels, I always feel the need to change the flow of interview. I mostly focus on personality and most of the time it gets abit informal. I already know what your skill, experience, education level etc. I mean, I have your CV right under my chin, so why not get to understand who you really are?

I usually want to get to know if your personality is fit for the organization I’m hiring for, mostly through trying to know the real person. Luckily, I’m fond of catching up with trends so once in a while I will end up diverting to get opinions along the way. Well, this leaves most panellists surprised too.

Reason for this is simply, as a recruiter my goal is to get the best fit into the organization. My best pick candidate should be able to fit into the organizations culture and be absorbed in easily.

Yeah, I know again we as candidates have changed a lot in terms of attitude, expected time for growth and promotions etc. We want rapid growth within the organization hence start feeling burnt-out over a short period of time but all this can be solved if we adopt to bridge the gap. Adaptation to nature of work e.g. Remote, Hybrid or work from home, reduce micro-management and create policies that are inclusive to all are some ways just to mention a few.

All in all, we as HR need to understand what job seekers are looking for. What kind of questions we ask in interviews, what is the main objective on this? Consistent communication and feedback to candidates and most important, adapting to the change in trends, flowing with the new generation.

Its simple, once we both come to understand each other, we make it seamless in attaining company goals also reducing high turnovers and increasing effective innovation in internal processes.